Introduction: Globalization, Neoliberalism, and Popular Responses

• Published date: 01 November 2019
• Author: Steve Ellner
• DOI: 10.1177/0094582X19874036
• Date: 01 November 2019
• Subject Matter: Introduction

https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X19874036

LATIN AMERICAN PERSPECTIVES, Issue 229, Vol. 46 No. 6, November 2019, 4–9

DOI: 10.1177/0094582X19874036

© 2019 Latin American Perspectives

4

Introduction

Globalization, Neoliberalism, and Popular Responses

by

Steve Ellner

Globalization and the neoliberal model associated with it take in more than

just the world economy and economic policies. They encompass a wide range

of strategies, practices, and cultural patterns, and their impact has been far-

reaching. The essays in this issue explore some of these phenomena from

diverse angles. In doing so, they cast in relief the contrast between neoliberal-

ism as it plays out on different fronts and alternative policies of a more human-

itarian nature. The article on social and labor policy in Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico,

and Colombia, for instance, demonstrates that the efforts of progressive or

“pink-tide” governments in Latin America to reduce inequality compare

favorably with those of conservative, pro-neoliberal ones. Appreciation of the

scope of neoliberalism in the age of globalization and the profundity of its

negative features is of special significance given the emergence of schools of

thought that play down the differences between pink-tide governments and

neoliberal ones.1

In his article, Jorge Battaglino discusses the downsides and dangers of the

military policy proposed by the Argentine neoliberal government of Mauricio

Macri of reinserting the armed forces into matters of internal security. In doing

so, Macri is breaking with a tradition dating back to 1983 of limiting the armed

forces to activities related to national defense, a policy that was a reaction to the

flagrant violation of human rights or the “dirty war” carried out by the military

regime of previous years. Battaglino puts forward a series of critical observa-

tions regarding Macri’s proposal. In the first place, he argues that military

involvement in the fight against crime weakens the democratic system. He

warns that popular approval of the military’s domestic role may translate into

widespread backing of coups, a reasonable possibility given the erosion of sup-

port for democracy in the region. In the second place, he says that the experi-

ences of countries like Colombia and Mexico show that “military intervention

in matters of internal security causes all types of excesses, arbitrariness, and

human rights violations.” In the third place, he points out that the justification

for Macri’s policy reversal is the need to confront the problems of terrorism and

drug trafficking, neither of which is generally considered a national emergency

Steve Ellner taught economic history and political science at the Universidad de Oriente in

Venezuela from 1977 to 2003. Among his books are Venezuela’s Movimiento al Socialismo: From

Guerrilla Defeat to Electoral Politics (1988), Organized Labor in Venezuela, 1958–1991: Behavior and

Concerns in a Democratic Setting (1993), and Rethinking Venezuelan Politics: Class, Polarization, and

the Chávez Phenomenon (2008). He has published on the op-ed page of the New York Times and the

Los Angeles Times and is a regular contributor to NACLA: Report on the Americas and In These Times.

The collective thanks him for organizing this issue.

874036LAPXXX10.1177/0094582X19874036Latin American PerspectivesEllner / INTRODUCTION

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